microsoft-foundry vs Skillsmith
microsoft-foundry is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by microsoft. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Copilot CLI: github/awesome-copilot). Skillsmith is an MCP server published by smith-horn. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-13. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  microsoft-foundry |  Skillsmith |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot CLI: github/awesome-copilot | Listed Version: 1.0.14 Forks (GitHub): 261 Stars (GitHub): 2 054 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.8.0 Downloads/month (npm): 2 052 Downloads/week (npm): 551 Forks (GitHub): 18 Stars (GitHub): 77 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | microsoft-foundry | Skillsmith |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 054 (better) | 77 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 261 (better) | 18 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-12 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (@skillsmith/mcp-server) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/microsoft/foundry-dev-tools | github.com/smith-horn/skillsmith |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 1 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
microsoft-foundry
Skills and interactive Copilot canvas for designing, configuring, testing and deploying agents to Microsoft Foundry.
Skillsmith
Share agent skills across your team, scan them for risk, and track what's actually used.
How to run each
microsoft-foundry
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Skillsmith As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio skillsmith -- npx -y @skillsmith/mcp-serverCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: microsoft-foundry · What it can do: Skillsmith · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/HEAD/.github/plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.